ELLENDALE, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Hatton-Northwood (HN) scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and the game had 3 lead changes in the final five minutes. Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm (EEK) was leading 20-14 with a little over 5 minutes to play and driving in HN territory when they fumbled and Fabian Carrillo scooped up the loose ball and ran 67 yards untouched for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion was successful when starting quarterback Avery Thorsgard connected with Lincoln Ostlie for a 22-20 lead with 5:10 to play.
EEK answered with a Kode Slivoskey 6 yard run with 2:11 to take the lead back at 26-22. What looked to be a game winning score by EEK did not last long as HN scored with 1:08 to go on a 34 yard touchdown pass to Parker Vaagene (only reception of the game) that ended the scoring with a 28-26 victory for the visiting Thunder squad.
Thorsgard finished the game completing 8-15 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carrillo had 4 catches for 55 yards and Ostlie hauled in 3 catches for 57 yards including a 12yard touchdown reception to give HN a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter .Thorsgard ran for 67 yards and a TD on 18 carries and Vaagene added 94 yards on 12 carries.
Slivoskey had 26 carries for EEK and a game high 125 yards. Dalton Madcke added 2 carries for 13 yards and a 5 yard TD run that gave EEK a 20-6 lead with 7:09 to go in the third quarter. Senior QB Cale Mathern completed 6-11 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Jace Hanson had 4 receptions for 93 yards and a TD.
Hanson also returned a kickoff for a TD in the first quarter to tie the game at 6-6. Jorgen Paulson added 1 catch for 55 yards late in the fouth quarter that setup a go ahead score before HN scored the game winner. EEK finished with 282 total yards and HN finished with 307 total yards. EEK drops to 1-3 overall and HN improved to 2-2.